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M-SAT-M-63-11
AUGUST 1 5 , 1 9 6 3

b "66 81238
(ACCESSIO? NUWBERI ITHRU)

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(PAGES)
ICODEI

CCATEGORY)

SATURN ILLUSTRATED CHRONOLOGY

A P R I L 1957 - A U G U S T 1963

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P r e p a r e d by:
S a t u r n Systems O f f i c e A
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

MSFC - Form 4 5 4 (Revised September 1 9 6 1 )

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Satuhn
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QQQusthated CbhonoQogy

I n A p r i l 1957, t h e s c i e n t i f i c o r g a n i z a t i o n d i r e c t e d by Dr. von

Braun, began s t u d i e s of l a u n c h v e h i c l e s having p a y l o a d s o f 20,000-40,000
pounds ( o r b i t a l m i s s i o n s ) o r 6,000-12,000 pounds ( f o r e s c a p e m i s s i o n s ) .
To l i f t p a y l o a d s of t h i s magnitude, h i g h - t h r u s t b o o s t e r s t a g e s were e s -
s e n t i a l . A c c o r d i n g l y , i n December 1957, t h e von Braun group, t h e n work-
i n g w i t h t h e Amy B a l l i s t i c Missile Agency (ABMA), s u b m i t t e d t o t h e
Department o f Defense a "Proposal f o r a N a t i o n a l I n t e g r a t e d Missile and
Space V e h i c l e Development Program". T h i s document i n d i c a t e d t h e need
f o r a b o o s t e r o f 1,500,000 pounds t h r u s t .

To s e c u r e t h i s amount of t h r u s t , ABMA f i r s t c o n s i d e r e d c l u s t e r i n g
f o u r 380,000 pound t h r u s t Rocketdyne E - 1 e n g i n e s , t h e n i n a n e a r l y s t a g e
of development. T h i s i n i t i a l concept w a s n o t c a r r i e d f u r t h e r , because
of t h e e s t i m a t e d l e n g t h of t i m e r e q u i r e d t o develop t h e e n g i n e . However,
s t u d i e s c o n t i n u e d t o d e t e r m i n e i f o t h e r e n g i n e s c o u l d be used i n a s i m i -
lar a p p l i c a t i o n .
*-
Then, i n J u l y 1958, r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e Advanced Research Pro-
j e c t s Agency (ARE'A) e x p r e s s e d i n t e r e s t i n a c l u s t e r e d b o o s t e r of
. 1,500,000 pounds t h r u s t t h a t would u s e r o c k e t e n g i n e s a l r e a d y t e s t e d
and of proven r e l i a b i l i t y . On August 1 5 , 1958, ARPA Order 14-59 f o r -
m a l l y i n i t i a t e d what was t o become t h e SATURN p r o j e c t . The o r d e r au-
t h o r i z e d a r e s e a r c h and development program f o r a l a r g e , s p a c e v e h i c l e
b o o s t e r . To s e c u r e t h e d e s i r e d t h r u s t of one-and-a-half m i l l i o n pounds,

1
August 1958

FIGURE 1. PROPOSED CONFIGURATION OF A CLUSTERED BOOSTER

a number of available rocket engines would be clustered. The feasibility

of this design (Fig. l ) , would be demonstrated by a full-scale static
firing by the end of 1959.

Previous studies had shown that the liquid oxygen (LOX) and fuel
tanks developed for the REDSTONE and JUPITER missiles could, with some
modification, be used for the tanks of the proposed booster. It was
also determined that an existing engine, the S-3D, used on both the
THOR and JUPITER missiles (Fig. 2), could be modified to produce an in-
creased thrust of 188,000 pounds. Certain of the tools and fixturcs
developed,for the REDSTONE and JUPITER programs could also be used with
comparafiively little modification (Fig. 3). Thus, it was possible to
begin booster development with certain well-tested hardware of proven
reliability. As a result, the time for design and development of some
important booster components and tooling was significantly shortened, 8

and the cost of hardware development and retooling reduced.

As an immediate step toward development of the clustered booster,

a contract was awarded Rocketdyne Division o f North American Aviation,

2
 September - October 1958

/-
- - . - -
L
I
-\
-

FIGURE 2 . THOR-JUPITER ENGINE

September 11, 1958, to up-rate the THOR-JUPITER engine. After redesign,

simplification, and modification, the engine wouid be the H - i (Fig. 4 ) .

In October 1958, to expand previous program objectives, ARPA Order

14-59 was amended to require the development of a reliable, high-per-
formance booster which would serve as the first stage of a multistage
carrier vehicle capable of perform-
ing advanced space missions. (The
vehicle was tentatively identified
as JUNO V . ) ARPA also requested a
study of a complete vehicle system,

FIGURE 3 . BOOSTER TOOLING FIGURE 4 . EARLY H-1 ENGINE

3
December 1958 - January 1959

FIGURE 5. PRELIMINARY CONCEPT OF LAUNCH COMPLEX 34, CAPE CANAnRAL

so that upper-stage selection and development could begin, and initiated

a study of Atlantic Missile Range (AMR) launch facilities which could
accomodate the launch vehicle. Later, December 11, 1958, ARPA Order
47-59 authorized the Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) to begin
design, modification, and construction of a captive static test tower
and facilities for use in the booster development program. AOMC was
also authorized to determine the design requirements for necessary
launch facilities (Fig. 5).

During these months, while the booster-vehicle program was being

formulated and expanded, development work on the H-1 engine had con-
tinued. By the end of the year, December 31, 1958, the H-1 Program had
progressed to the first full-power firing at the Rocketdyne facility,
Canoga Park, California.

Concurrently with the development program of the H - 1 engine, studies

had been conducted to determine the feasibility of building a large
single-chamber rocket engine capable of producing very high thrust. On
January 9, 1959, a contract was awarded Rocketdyne of North American
Aviation to design, develop, and test such an engine, designated as the
F-1. This engine, burning LOX and RP-1, a kerosene-type fuel, would
generate approximately 1,500,000 pounds of thrust.

4
 January - March 1959
1
In response to ARPA Order 47-59 of the previous month, construction
of the ABMA static test stand for large boosters began January 10, 1959.
At the same time, Army representatives of the ARPA board visited AMR to
discuss selection of a site for large vehicle launch facilities at Cape
Canaveral. By February 1959, a contract had been awarded for construc-
tion of the blockhouse at the site (Launch Complex 3 4 ) , and a design
contract was also awarded for a movable service structure, which would
. be used to assemble and service the vehicle on the launch pedestal.
d On February 3 , an ARPA memorandum officially renamed the project
SATURN, cancelling the former identification of JUNO V.

.- ARPA representatives gave a presentation of the proposed National

Vehicle Program to the President and the National Aeronautics and Space
Council on March 2, 1959. Included at this time were the proposed SATURN
I B and C vehicle systems (Figs. 6and 7). On March 13, ABMA submitted to
ARPA the results of the SATURN system study. Outlining various upper-
stage configurations, this study indicated that either an ATLAS or a
I TITAN could be used as the second stage of the proposed vehicle (Fig. 8).

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120"
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200'
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FIGURE 6. FIGURE 7. FIGURE 8 . VEHICLES USING
SATURN B SATURN C TITAN AND ATLAS STAGES

5
April - July 1959

In response, ARPA indicated during May, that modified TITAN hardware

would be u s e d for the second stage and that the third stage would use a
minimumly modified CENTAUR vehicle, which was under development by
Convair Astronautics (Fig. 9).

By April 28, the first production H-1 engine (H-1001) had been de-
livered on schedule to ABMA (Fig. 10). The first firing test of this
engine, later used in the first test booster, was performed successfully
on May 26, 1959. Shortly after, on July 5, 1959, construction began of .
the SATURN blockhouse for Launch Complex 3 4 , at Cape Canaveral (Fig. 11). \

On July 27, 1959, the date that the last JUPITER airframe was com-
pleted at Redstone Arsenal, the Arsenal shops began retooling to support
the SATURN project. On the same day, the Director of Defense Research
..
and Ecgineering sent the Secretary of the Air Force and the Director of
ARPA a memorandum stating that as the requirements for the second stage
of SATURN and the booster for the proposed DYNA SOAR vehicle were quite
similar,ARPA and the Air Force should consider a common development of
these projects. Until completion of this review, neither agency was to
make firm commitments for the redesign of existing boosters or develop-
ment of new ones. Immediately after issuing this memorandum, July 29,
1959, ARPA ordered that all AOMC inhouse and contract work, and other
expenditures relating to the TITAN second stage, cease immediately. How-
ever, permission was granted to continue preliminary work not directly
connected with the stage diameter.

</ RP-1 TANK

4,

.
.
FIGURE 9. ATLAS CENTAUR VEHICLE FIGURE 10. H-1 ENGINE IN ALIGNMENT
(CENTAUR SECOND STAGE) FIXTURE

6
 August - October 1959

FIGURE 11. MODEL OF BLOCKHOUSE AT LAUNCH COMPLEX 34

._
While s t u d i e s or' t h e p r v p o s e d SATUP??-ED?A S9AF. c z - h i n a t i n n cnn-
t i n u e d , ARPA, on August 1, a u t h o r i z e d ABMA t o p r o c e e d w i t h c a p t i v e
f i r i n g o f the SATURN b o o s t e r e a r l y i n 1960. I n September, a s e r i e s of
p r e s e n t a t i o n s on SATURN, NOVA and TITAN C y w a s made by r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s
o f AOMC, NASA, and t h e A i r Force, t o t h e B o o s t e r E v a l u a t i o n Committee
of t h e O f f i c e of t h e S e c r e t a r y of Defense. The purpose of t h e s e p r e s e n -
t a t i o n s w a s t o d e t e r m i n e which of t h e t h r e e systems would most f e a s i b l y
promote NASA s p a c e o b j e c t i v e s . On t h e b a s i s o f t h e s e p r e s e n t a t i o n s t o
D r . Yorlc ( D i r e c t o r o f Research and E n g i n e e r i n g , Department of Defense,
and Chairman of t h e B o o s t e r E v a l u a t i o n Committee), t h e SATURN program
w a s s e l e c t e d because i t o f f e r e d t h e most immediate a d v a n t a g e s o f t h e
s y s t e m s p r e s e n t e d . S h o r t l y a f t e r t h i s d e c i s i o n , September 2 4 , 1 9 5 9 ,
ARPA r e q u e s t e d t h a t a s t u d y b e performed t o d e t e r n i a e t h e two SATLRV
c o n f i g u r a t i o n s which would b e s t i n c r e a s e t h e v e h i c l e ' s c a p a b i l i t i e s t o
c a r r y NASA p a y l o a d s I)

During t h e p r e c e d i n g months, s t u d i e s had been performed t o d e t e r -

mine t h e b e s t way of t r a n s p o r t i n g t h e completed b o o s t e r , Because of i t s
l a r g e s,ize and w e i z h t , t h e b o o s t e r could n o t b e t r a n s p o r t e d by a i r o r
o v e r l a n d , a l o n g p u b l i c highways, A s a a t e r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n appeared most
f e a s i b l e , M A a u t h o r i z e d AOMC, October 2 3 , 1 9 5 9 , t o proceed w i t h en-
g i n e e r i n g work f o r dock f a c i l i t i e s . These would be l o c a t e d on t h e
Tennessee River a t t h e s J u t h e r n boundry of Redstone A r s e n a l I n Decem-
b e r , AONC was f u r t h e r a u t h o r i z e d t o c o n s t r u c t t h e f a c i l i t i e s and t o b u i l d
a b a r g e t o t r a n s p o r t t h e b o o s t e r t o Cape Canalreral,

7
 October - December 1959

During October 1959, planning continued of SATURN vehicle configu-

rations. On October 29 and 30, ABM presented a second SATURN System
Study to ARPA and NASA, proposing various upper-stage configurations
which offered increased payload capability and growth potential. In
December 1959, after evaluation of previous presentations, NASA and ARPA
requested that AOMC prepare an engineering study for a three-stage SATURN
configuration (later identified as C-1) (Fig. 12).

On November 18, 1959, NASA assumed technical direction of the

SATURN project, pending its formal transfer from ARPA. Administrative
direction was retained by ARPA until March 16, 1960, when transfer of
both administrative and technical direction would become effective.

On December 15, 1959, the SATURN Vehicle Evaluation Committee (the

Silverstein Committee), reached a decision on SATURN upper-stage con-
figurations. This committee, composed of representatives from NASA,
ARPA, DOD, and AF, recommended a long-range development program for
j SATURN, including upper-stage engines burning liquid hydrogen and liquid
oxygen. The C-1 configuration, selected as the initial vehicle to be
developed, was to be a stepping stone to the C-2 vehicle (Fig. 13). The
I
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70"-

REDSTONE JUPITER-C 2:
835

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185'

XL'

105'

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JUPITER JUNO II
- -

F I G U R E 12. C - 1 AND EARLIER VEHICLES FIGURE 13. PROPOSED c-2

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 December 1959

FIGURE 14. BOOSTER STAGE (S-I)

cormnittee also recommended that a

high-thrust (150,000 to 200,000
pounds) hydrogen-oxygen engine be
developed for use on advanced upper
stages. A building-block concept
was proposed, as this would yield
a variety of SATURN configurations,
each using previously-proven de-
velopments as far as possible. A s
these recommendations were accepted
by the NASA Administrator, December
31, 1959, a ten-vehicle R&D program
was established. The C - 1 vehicle
configuration included the S-I, i'rie
S-IV, and the S-V stages. The S - I
stage (Fig. 14) had eight H - 1 en-
gines clustered, using LOX/RP-l
propellants capable of producing a
total of 1,500,000 pounds of thrust
The S-IV stage (Fig. 15) had four
engines, using LOX/LH2 propellants FIGURE 15. SECOND STAGE (S-IV)

9
January - February 1960
and producing a t o t a l of 80,000
pounds of t h r u s t . The S-V s t a g e
( F i g . 16) used two of t h e same en-
g i n e s as t h e s-IV s t a g e , p r o d u c i n g
a t o t a l o f 40,000 pounds of t h r u s t .

The SATURN p r o j e c t w a s approved

on J a n u a r y 18, 1960, as a program of
t h e h i g h e s t n a t i o n a l p r i o r i t y (DX
rating).

A s a r e s u l t of t h e December de-
c i s i o n s , a c t i o n w a s taken t o procure
t h e S-IV s t a g e . A b i d d e r ' s confer-
ence c o n c e r n i n g t h e s t a g e w a s h e l d
a t H u n t s v i l l e , J a n u a r y 26 and 2 7 ,
1960, a n d , by F e b r u a r y 29, 1960,
twelve companies had s u b m i t t e d con-
FIGURE 16. THIRD STAGE (S-V) tract proposals.

FIGURE 17. MOVING SATURN TEST BOOSTER FROM ASSEMBLY TO TEST

10
 January - A p r i l 1960

By 1960, t h e formal t e s t program t o p r o v e o u t t h e c l u s t e r e d b o o s t e r

concept w a s w e l l underway a t Redstone A r s e n a l . A moclcup o f t h e SA"
b o o s t e r had been i n s t a l l e d i n t h e AJ3MA t e s t s t a n d on J a n u a r y 4, 1960, t o
check mating of t h e b o o s t e r and s t a n d and t o t e s t s e r v i c i n g methods.
S t r u c t u r a l assembly of a t e s t b o o s t e r ( i d e n t i f i e d as SA-T) had begun i n
1959. Following completion o f assembly on J a n u a r y 29, 1960, t h e b o o s t e r
was moved t o checkout. The mockup was removed from t h e t e s t s t a n d Feb-
r u a r y 1, and SA-T was i n s t a l l e d i n i t s p l a c e , F e b r u a r y 21, 1960 ( F i g s .
n
1 7 and 18).

On F e b r u a r y 1 9 , 1960, w h i l e p r e p a r a t i o n s f o r t h e f i r s t series o f

.- b o o s t e r s t a t i c t e s t s were b e i n g made, ABM r e c e i v e d ARPA Order 14-60,

Amendment 1 7 . T h i s o r d e r a u t h o r i z e d NASA t o p r o c e e d w i t h the p r e l i m i -
n a r y s t e p s l e a d i n g t o c o n t r a c t s f o r i n d u s t r i a l development of t h e SATURN
upper s t a g e s . During March 1960, t h e e x e c u t i v e o r d e r t r a n s f e r r i n g t h e
SATURN program t o NASA became e f f e c t i v e . Later i n t h e month, March 28,
two of SATURN'S e i g h t f i r s t - s t a g e e n g i n e s p a s s e d a n i n i t i a l s t a t i c f i r -
i n g t e s t of a p p r o x i m a t e l y e i g h t s e c o n d s ' d u r a t i o n . This t e s t was i d e n t i -
f i e d as number SAT-01 - t h e f i r s t l i v e f i r i n g o f t h e SATURN t e s t b o o s t e r
(SA-T). I n a second t e s t (SAT-02), o n A p r i l 6 , f o u r e n g i n e s were s u c c e s s -
f u l l y s t a t i c f i r e d f o r seven seconds. A l l e i z l i t e n z i n e s of t h e t e s t
b o o s t e r were s u c c e s s f u l l y f i r e d A p r i l 29, 1960, i n a t e s t (SAT-03) of
e i g h t s e c o n d s ' d u r a t i o n ( F i g . 1 9 ) . T h i s t e s t w a s f o l l o w e d , on May 1 7 ,
by a second e i g h t - e n g i n e s t a t i c f i r -
i n g (SAT-04) of 24 s e c o n d s ' d u r a t i o n ,
g e n e r a t i n g a t h r u s t of 1 . 3 m i l l i o n

.-

FIGURE 18. BOOSTER I N TEST STAND FIGURE 19. BOOSTER STATIC FIRING

11
April - May 1960

pounds. On May 26, a third successful eight-engine firing (SAT-05) of

35 seconds' duration was completed.

After review of the S-IV proposals received in February, NASA

announced, April 26, 1960, that Douglas Aircraft Corporation had been

-.

FIGURE 21. ASSEMBLY OF TANKS ON SA-1 BOOSTER

12
 May 1960

awarded a c o n t r a c t t o develop and b u i l d t h e s t a g e . On May 26, 1960,

assembly o f t h e b o o s t e r s t a g e f o r t h e f i r s t S A T " f l i g h t v e h i c l e w a s
begun ( F i g s . 20, 21, 22, and 23). The f l i g h t v e h i c l e s would b e sequen-
t i a l l y numbered, t h e f i r s t b e i n g SA-1, t h e second SA-2, t o t h e SA-10,
t h e p r o t o t y p e of t h e o p e r a t i o n a l SATURN. Other a c t i v i t y i n May i n c l u d e d
a n announcement by NASA t h a t Rocketdyne had been s e l e c t e d t o develop t h e

FIGURF: 22. STRUCTURAL FABRICATION OF SA-1 BOOSTER

FIGURE 23. INSTALJATION OF ENGINES ON SA-1 BOOSTER

13
June - July 1960
high-thrust 5-2 engine (Fig.24).
This engine, of the type defined by
the Silverstein Committee in December
1959, would burn liquid hydrogen-
liquid oxygen, and would be used in
an advanced upper stage for the
SATURN vehicle.

A second series of booster

static tests began June 3 , 1960 at
MSFC. The eight engines of the stage
were successfully fired in a test
I (SAT-06) of 75 seconds' duration. On
June 8, another eight-engine test
(SAT-07) was performed in a firing of
111 seconds' duration. A third eight-
engine test (SAT-08) of 121 seconds'
duration was accomplished on June 15.

On July 1, 1960, the SATURN pro-

gram was formally transferred to the
George C. Marshall Space Flight Cen-
FIGURE 24. MODEL OF 5-2 ENGINE ter (MSFC).

FIGURE 25. INITIAL CONFIGURATION OF THF, S-IV STAGE

14
 July - August 1960
Formal procurement of the SlIV stage was initiated July 26, i 9 6 0 ,
when NAS7-1 Supplemental Agreement was signed with Douglas Aircraft
Corporation (DAC). This contract required that DAC design, develop,
and fabricate the four-engine S-IV stage (Fig. 25) for the SATURN C-1
configuration. Contracts were also let on August 10, 1960, with Pratt
and Whitney (PGXJ) to develop and produce LR-119 engines; the government
would furnish these engines to the contractors responsible for building
the S-IV and S-V stages of the C - 1 vehicle. The LR-119 engine, an up-
rated LR-115, was planned to generate 17,500 pounds of thrust.

On August 14, 1960, construction bezan on the movable service

structure for Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral (Fig. 26).

As a result o f a request made by the Air Force on August 15, 1960,

for NASA assistance in planning the application of SATURN to DYNA SOAR,
a meeting was held October 6, between representatives of MSFC and the
Air Force. It was agreed that MSFC would provide the Air Force with a
preliminary study of the application of SATURN to this program.

.-

FIGURE 26. CONSTRUCTION OF SERVICE TOWER AND PEDESTAL

15
September - October 1960
FIGURE 27. UNVEILING BUST OF
GENERAL GEORGE C. MARSHALL
m
r I
FIGURE 28. DR. VON BRAUN AND
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER
On September 8, 1960, the
facilities o f the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration
at Huntsville, Alabama, were de-
dicated and designated as the George
C. Marshall Space Flight Center.
Attended by President Eisenhower,
Mrs. G. C. Marshall, NASA Administra-
tor T. Keith Glennan, and many other
National, State, and local dignitar-
ies, this dedication, (Figs. 27, 28,
and 29) was the culmination of events
originating in the Presidential EX-
ecutive Order, dated March 15, 1960.
On October 21, a study contract
for a second upper stage (tie S-V)
was awarded to Convair Astronautics.
On October 25, 1960, NASA selected
Convair, General Electric, and Mar-
tin to conduct individual feasibility
studies of an advanced manned-space-
craft as part of Project AF'OLLO.
The barge, Palaemon, which would
transport the booster to the Cape,
- b
FIGURE 29. MR. GLENNAN, PRESIDENT
EISENHOWER, AND DR. VON BRAUN
16
 November 1960 -. January 1961
was delivered to MSFC, November 22,
1960.

A new series of static firing

tests of the test booster (modified
to the SA-1 flight configuration and
designated SA-T1) was initiated De-
. cember 2, 1960, in an eight-engine
test (SAT-09) of two seconds' dura-
tion. The following week, on Decem-
ber 10, two of the eight engines
were static tested (SAT-10) in a
4- firing of six seconds' duration.
The series of booster tests w a s suc-
cessfully concluded on December 20,
1960, by a 60-second firing of a l l
eight engines (SAT-11). Fabrica-
tion of the tanks for the booster
stage of the second SATURN flight
vehicle (identified as SA-2) was FIGURE 30. PROPOSED SATURN C/1
completed during December. Assem- APOLLO CONFIGURATION
bly of the booster began immediately.
On January 5, 1961, Convair Astronautics submitted a proposal for
the development of an S-'v' upper seage €or the SA73?21 vehicle; however,
later in the month, January 26, Dr. von Braun proposed that the C-1 ve-
hicle be changed from a three-stage to a two-stage configuration in sup-
port of the APOLLO program (Fig. 30).
The change would delete requirements
for the S-V stage on C-1 vehicles.

On January 16, the booster

stage for the SA-1 flight vehicle
was moved from assembly to checkout
(Fig. 31). During the month of
January, also, wind tunnel testing
of a model SATURN booster began at
the Arnold Engineering Development
Center; the tests were designed to
study base heating phenomena of the
.- clustered stage.

Two additional studies began

in January, 1961, when contracts
were awarded North American and
Ryan to investigate the feasibility
of recovering the S-I booster stage
of the flight vehicle by using a FIGURE 31. FLIGHT BOOSTER CHECKOUT

17
January - F e b r u a r y 1961
Rogallo p a r a g l i d e r ( F i g . 3 2 ) . A
d e s i g n c o n t r a c t w a s awarded f o r e q u i p -
ment which would be u s e d a t MSFC t o
check o u t t h e S-1 s t a g e a u t o m a t i c a l l y .

On J a n u a r y 25, 1961, a meeting

was h e l d a t MSFC t o s t u d y S - I 1 s t a g e
r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r t h e SATURN C-2 ve-
h i c l e (Fig. 33). This information
w a s needed s o t h a t e a r l y S - I 1 s t a g e
t r a j e c t o r y , performance, and s t r u c -
t u r a l a n a l y s i s c a l c u l a t i o n s could
be completed and made a p a r t o f t h e
p r e l i m i n a r y SATURN/DYNA SOAR propo-
s a l . Two d a y s l a t e r , a t MSFC, a
dummy of t h e S-IV s t a g e w a s completed

-
and moved t o checkout ( F i g . 3 4 ) .

On J a n u a r y 31, a n eight-engine

T h i s w a s a t e s t of 113 s e c o n d s ' d u r a -
tion.

A dummy S-V s t a g e , b u i l t f o r u s e
on SA-1, w a s r e c e i v e d from Convair on
F e b r u a r y 8 , and mated t o t h e dummy
S - I V s t a g e . The f i r s t h o r i z o n t a l as-
sembly of t h e complete C - 1 v e h i c l e
w a s accomplished d u r i n g t h i s month
(Fig. 35).

SA-T1 s t a t i c t e s t s were complet-

ed on F e b r u a r y 14 i n a n e i g h t - e n g i n e
f i r i n g o f 108- s e c o n d s (SAT- 13) . By
F e b r u a r y 27, Convair had p r o v i d e d
MSFC w i t h a second dummy S-V s t a g e .
3 T h i s s t a g e would f i r s t be used d u r i n g
dynamic t e s t s of a complete dummy
v e h i c l e ; l a t e r t h e dummy S - V would be
I used on a f l i g h t v e h i c l e .

I n F e b r u a r y , a s e r i e s of m e e t -
i n g s were h e l d a t NASA H e a d q u a r t e r s
and MSFC t o d i s c u s s d i f f i c u l t i e s m e t
I I
d u r i n g LR-119 e n g i n e development.
A s a r e s u l t of t h e s e m e e t i n g s , s t u -
FIGURE 33. c-2 SECOND STAGE CONCEPT d i e s began e a r l y i n March t o d e t e r m i n e

18
 .-i

FIGURE 34. MOVEMENT OF DUMMY S - I V STAGE T O CHECKOUT

I --
I -
I

F I G U R E 35. FIRST HORIZONTAL MATING O F THE SATURN VEHICLE

19
 March 1961

.
.

FIGURE 3 6 . RENOVAL OF THF: BOOSTER FROM THE STATIC TEST STAND

the p o s s i b i l i t y of using the f i r s t

g e n e r a t i o n LR-115 t y p e CENTAUR
e n g i n e on t h e SATURN S-IV s t a g e ,
r a t h e r t h a n t h e p l a n n e d second-
g e n e r a t i o n CENTAIJR e n g i n e , t h e LR-
119. The b o o s t e r w a s removed from
t h e t e s t s t a n d on March 2 , ( F i g . 36)
and l o a d e d a b o a r d t h e Palaemon f o r
river t r i a l s .

A l s o , on March 2 , 1961, a s a
p a r t of t h e b o o s t e r r e c o v e r y studies,
t e s t s began a t Cape C a n a v e r a l t o de-
t e r m i n e t h e f e a s i b i l i t y of r e u s i n g
H-1 engines a f t e r exposure t o s a l t
water ( F i g . 3 7 ) . C o n s t r u c t i o n work
a t Launch Complex 34 c o n t i n u e d t o
progress s a t i s f a c t o r i l y , with the
service s t r u c t u r e , b l o c k h o u s e , and
FIGURE 37. SALT WATER TEST OF gas f a c i l i t i e s , n e a r i n g completion
H-1 ENGINE (Fig. 3 8 ) .

20
 March 1961

FIGURE 3 8 . FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION AT LAUNCH COMPLEX 34

During the first week u i 2-krcI-11361, p r e p a r a t i o n s Segaii at XSFC f z r

the first flight qualification testing of the SA-1 booster, which, on
March 7, was moved to the Marshall
Space Flight Center static test stand
for preflight checkout.

On March 14, the Palaemon,

carrying the SA-T1, left the MSFC
dock on its first training trip
(Fig. 3 9 ) . Following its return
on March 18, the test booster was
returned to the MSFC shops for modi-
fication to the SA-T2 configuration.
Also during March, construction be- .
gan at MSFC of a facility to be used
in familiarizing personnel with the
handling of liquid hydrogen.

At a SATURN Program Review,

held March 2 3 , 1961, MSFC presented
plans to accelerate the C-2 program
and recommended that a prime con-
tractor be selected to develop the
S-I1 stage. Recommendations were FIGURE 3 9 . THE BARGE PALAEMON

21
 March - A p r i l 1961
a l s o made t o use s i x LR-115 e n g i n e s on t h e S-IV s t a g e i n s t e a d of f o u r
, LR-119 e n g i n e s . P r a t t and Whitney would s t i l l b e t h e s u p p l y i n g c o n t r a c -
t o r . Also proposed were c e r t a i n d e s i g n changes of t h e S - I s t a g e , i n c l u d -
i n g i n c r e a s e d p r o p e l l a n t c a p a c i t y , f i n s ( F i g . 4 0 ) , and i n c r e a s e d s t r u c -
t u r a l s t i f f e n i n g f o r l a t e r v e r s i o n s of t h e b o o s t e r .

On March 29, 1961, MSFC r e c e i v e d NASA H e a d q u a r t e r s a p p r o v a l f o r t h e

s i x - e n g i n e c o n f i g u r a t i o n of t h e S-IV (Fig. 4 1 ) . S t a g e r e d e s i g n began
immediately a f t e r w a r d a t DAC. A d d i t i o n a l NASA a p p r o v a l w a s r e c e i v e d
March 31, t o a c c e l e r a t e t h e C-2 program and o p t i m i z e t h e C-2 v e h i c l e f o r
a t h r e e - s t a g e escape m i s s i o n . MSFC was a l s o a u t h o r i z e d t o b e g i n a two-
p h a s e procurement of a n S-I1 s t a g e . (The S - I s t a g e d e s i g n changes were
a u t h o r i z e d later i n May, 1 9 6 1 ) .

FIGURE 4 0 . REDESIGNED TAIL FIGURE 41. SIX-ENGINE CONFIGURATION

OF THE SATURN BOOSTER OF THE S-IV STAGE

During March, f u r t h e r d e c i s i o n s were made c o n c e r n i n g e n g i n e s f o r

t h e S-IV s t a g e . It w a s d e c i d e d t o r e d i r e c t e f f o r t from development of
t h e LR-11.9 t o the RLlO-A-3, a n e n g i n e t h a t c o u l d b e u s e d i n common by
b o t h th.e CENTAUR and t h e S-IV s t a g e .

On A p r i l 10, 1961, NASA announced t h e P r o j e c t AF'OLLO o b j e c t i v e of

d e v e l o p i n g a n o r b i t i n g l a b o r a t o r y f o r t h e s t u d y of e f f e c t s of r a d i a t i o n
and prolonged w e i g h t l e s s n e s s , f i r s t w i t h a n i m a l s and l a t e r w i t h a t h r e e -
man crew ( F i g , 42). During A p r i l , DAC r e p o r t e d t h a t a i r t r a n s p o r t f o r
t h e S-IV s t a g e was f e a s i b l e ( F i g . 4 3 ) . DAC had been a u t h o r i z e d i n 1960

22
 April 1961

FIGURE 4 2 . ARTIST'S CONCEPT OF APOLLO C-APSULE

FIGURE 4 3 . AIR TRANSPORT OF S-IV STAGE

to study air transportation for the S-17 s ~ a g e . 2%~ mc,; zf t r a E s nr n- r- -

tation would greatly reduce the time required to move the stage by water
from California to Marshall Space Flight Center at Huntsville, Alabama,
and thence to Launch Complex 3 4 , at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Other modes
o f stage transportation under investigation during this time included
gliders, blimps, and aircraft t o carry the stages internally.

23
April 1961

On April 17, the Palaemon began its first trial run to Cape
Canaveral. The barge carried a water-ballasted tank simulating the
size and weight of the S-I booster (Fig. 4 4 ) , plus a dummy S-V stage
for the SA-1. The barge reached Cape Canaveral on April 30 (Fig. 4 5 ) .
After rehearsing movement of the booster along roads at the Cape, the
simulator was reloaded aboard the Palaemon. The d m y S-V stage remain-
ed at the Cape. On May 3, the barge began its return trip, arriving
at the Redstone Arsenal dock, May 15 (Fig. 4 6 ) .

Construction of the dynamic test tower at MSFC had been completed

on April 1 7 , the same day that the Palaemon left for Florida. Designed
to obtain essential infor-
mation on the dynamic be-
havior of the vehicle
." (Fig. 4 7 ) , the dynamic
tower permits checkout of
the mechanical mating of
the C-1 vehicle, and aids
in determining the
vehicle's natural bending
characteristics and the
effect of simulated flight
vibrations.

Acting on the au-

.* thorization received from
NASA Headquarters on
March 23, MSFC held a
FIGURE 44. BOOSTER SIMULATOR BEING SATURN S - I 1 preproposal
LOADED ABOARD PALAEMON conference on April 18;
the first phase of S-11
procurement was expected
to begin during May. On
April 21, DAC reported to
MSFC that the major prob-
lem in S-IV stage develop-
ment was disposition of
hydrogen gas generated
f4
during engine chi1ldown .
..

SA-2 flight vehicle con-

FIGURE 45. UNLOADING SIMULATOR AT THE CAPE tinued, and fabrication

24
 May 1961

._ -___--- ---
, . . .^ * . .. _1

FIGURE 46. ROUTE OF THE PALAEMON

.
!
. - . .
t
TO CAPE CANAVERAL

of the LOX and fuel tanks for the

SA-3 vehicle was begun. FIGURE 47. INSTALLING DUMMY S - I ON
DYNAMIC TEST TOWER
A second static firing of the
SA-1 booster (SA-02) was accom-
plished May 5 , 1961, in an eight-
engine test of 44 seconds'duration.
A s this test was terminated pre-
maturely (because of a ruptured
gas generator pressure transducer
which gave a shutdown signal
through the fire detection system),
a third eight-engine static firing
test (SA-03) of the SA-1 booster
was performed May 11 (Fig. 48).
Results of this test (111 seconds'
duration) were satisfactory.

In May 1961, NASA Headquarters

accepted MSFC ' s March proposal to
incorporate design changes into
the S - I stage of the C - 1 vehicle.
The changes would permit the C - 1
to be used as a two- or three-
stage vehicle possessing satis- FI- 48. POSITIONING FLIGHT
factory safety requirements for the BOOSTER.IN TEST STAND

25
 VtVILLt
L N 6 T H 17 BLOCK I BLOCK II
165
I60 - 51 I ' $ .,"
I50
140
Ix)
I20
110
S-E
SE
100
90
JUMW - 7
I
80 I
70
, '1

60
50 $ 1
40
30
20 ~

10
0
I F I G W 49. CONFIGURATIONS O F SATURN FIGURE 50. SEPARATION OF UPPER
FLIGHT VEHICLES STAGES FROM BOOSTER

t w o - s t a g e manned m i s s i o n ( F i g s . 49 and 5 0 )
T h i s change e l i m i n a t e d t h e immediate need
f o r a n S-V stage w i t h t h e C - 1 , e x c e p t f o r
p o s s i b l e s p e c i a l missions. Also, during
May 1961, MSFC began r e e x a m i n a t i o n of t h e
c a p a b i l i t i e s of t h e SATURN C-2 c o n f i g u r a -
t i o n t o support l u n a r circumnavigation
missions. R e s u l t s of t h i s examination
i n d i c a t e d t h a t , as lunar mission r e q u i r e -
ments had i n c r e a s e d , a SATURN v e h i c l e of
even g r e a t e r performance would be de-
sirable.

On May 18, t h e f i r s t phase of S - I 1

procurement began, when MSFC r e q u e s t e d
industry t o prepare capability proposals
f o r t h e d e s i g n and development o f t h e
s t a g e . Also d u r i n g May, P&W s h i p p e d a
mockup of t h e RL10-A-3 e n g i n e ( F i g . 51) t o
DAC and Convair f o r checks t o a s s u r e t h a t
t h e engine w a s p h y s i c a l l y compatible with
b o t h t h e S-IV s t a g e and t h e CENTAUR ve-
h i c l e . Among o t h e r a c t i v i t i e s i n May, t h e
..
M a r t i n Company was awarded a c o n t r a c t t o
s t u d y l a u n c h v e h i c l e systems which c o u l d
be used i n l u n a r e x p l o r a t i o n beyond t h e - -.-
i n i t i a l Project DOLL0 flights. (These
s t u d i e s c o v e r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n systems FIGURE 51. MODEL OF TKE
f o r a l u n a r l a n d i n g and immediate r e t u r n RL10-A-3 ENGINE

26
 May - J u n e 1961

FIGURF 52. TESTING OF DUMMY S - I V STAGE

f o r t h r e e men, a t h i r t y - d a y s t a y on t h e moon f o r t h r e e men, and a p e r -

manent moon b a s e t o accommodate 1 0 t o 1 2 men).

A t MSFC, t e s t s of t h e S-IV dummy s t a g e f o r t h e SA-1 f l i g h t v e h i c l e

were performed May 20-25, i961 ( F i g . 5 2 ) . On s u c c e s s f u l c o m p l e t i o n of
t e s t i n g , work began t o r e a d y t h e s t a g e f o r shipment t o Cape C a n a v e r a l .

During J u n e , c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e l i q u i d - h y d r o g e n t e s t s i t e ( F i g . 5 3 )

FIGURE 53. SACRAMENTO TEST FACILITY

27
May - June 1961
I

I
.

FIGURE 54. DUMMY SATURN VEHICLE IN

DYNAMIC TEST STAND

neared completion at Douglas Aircraft's Sacramento Test Facility. Uti-

lizing LOX facilities existing from earlier programs, the site includes
two 90,000-gallon liquid hydrogen storage tanks and test stands capable
of testing S-IV hardware under a variety of conditions.

Engine gimbal tests performed at MSFC during April and May had indi-
cated the advisability of increasing the stiffness of the engine control
support structure in the booster. To investigate this matter further,
the control engine support structure of the S-I stage of the dynamic test
vehicle was modified and a series of single-engine gimbal tests began on
May 29, 1961. As test results were of marginal satisfaction, a new t y p e -.
of actuator s e m o valve was then installed. Further test results were
satisfactory. On completion of these tests, the dummy booster was moved
to the dynamic test stand early in June, and, for the first time, verti-
cally mated with dummy S-IV and S-V stages. The assembled vehicle was
then readied f o r dynamic testing (Fig. 5 4 ) .

During May and June 1961, Douglas Aircraft had continued fabrication
of full-scale mockups of S-IV stage sections (Figs. 55 and 56). These

28
 J u n e 1961

FIGURE 55. TAIL AREA MOCKUP FIGURE 56. FORWARD INERRSllAGE MOCKUP

mockups are u s e d t o check t h e mating o f d i f f e r e n t s e c t i o n s of t h e s t a g e

and t o d e t e r m i n e equipment l o c a t i o n s .

On J u n e 2 , a l o c k c o l l a p s e d a t the -qheeier Dam on t h e Tennessee

River. A l l movement of river t r a f f i c w a s h a l t e d . A s t h e Palaemon w a s
t r a p p e d i n t h e upper river, i t w a s d e c i d e d t o t r a n s p o r t t h e b o o s t e r i n
t h e Palaemon t o a p o i n t above t h e dam, unload t h e s t a g e , and t r a n s p o r t
it o v e r l a n d t o a p o i n t below t h e dam. There, t h e s t a g e would be r e l o a d -
ed on a n o t h e r b a r g e t o c o n t i n u e t h e t r i p t o Cape C a n a v e r a l . To s u p p o r t
t h e s e p l a n s , MSFC o b t a i n e d a Navy b a r g e which had been m o t h b a l l e d a t
P e n s a c o l a , F l o r i d a . Necessary m o d i f i c a t i o n s began s o t h a t t h e new b a r g e
(renamed t h e Compromise) (Fig. 57) could c a r r y t h e S - I and dummy S-IV
s t a g e s and dummy p a y l o a d .

29
J u n e 1961

i
*.

--t

FIGURE 58. LAUNCH COMPLEX 3 4 , U R I A L VIEW

On J u n e 5 , 1961, Launch Complex 34 w a s d e d i c a t e d i n a b r i e f ceremony

and t u r n e d over t o NASA ( F i g s . 58 and 5 9 ) .

F i n a l a c c e p t a n c e t e s t i n g of t h e S - I s t a g e f o r t h e f i r s t f l i g h t
b o o s t e r began a t MSFC, June 1 2 , 1961, t h e f i r s t o p e r a t i o n accomplished

-.

FIGURE 59. LAUNCH COMPLEX 3 4 , BLOCKHOUSE INTERIOR

30
 June 1961

1 being the mechanical mating of<the

S-IV dummy stage. Design work for
later S A T " vehicles also continu-

I ed at MSFC, when, on June 15, 1961,

a mockup of the new instrument unit
portion of the vehicle was complet-
II ed; this unit, containing guidance
and instrumentation, will be placed
I1 ' - above the upper stages of Block I1
vehicles (Fig. 60).

I .-
On June 2 1 , Phase I1 procure-
ment of the s-I1 stage began. Four
companies were invited to attend
the Phase I1 meeting at MSFC and
proposals were requested.
FIGURE GO. INSTRUMENT UNIT MOCKW
A t another meeting held in
June with DAC, MSPC made the de-
cision that the S-IV stage would be
redesigned to incorporate chill-
down venting through which accumulated hydrogen gas would be disposed.

A s a result of studies initiated at MSFC in May, Dr. von Braun an-

nounced, June 2 3 , that further engineering design work 2 2 the C - 2 con-
figuration would be discontinued, (Fig. 61) and effort would instead
be redirected toward clarification of the SATURN (2-3 and NOVA concepts

FIGURE bi. LuWAKISON OF SATURN COXFIGURATIOXS

31
 J u n e 1961

FIGURE 62. POSSIBLE NOVA CONFIGURATIONS

( F i g . 6 2 ) . I n v e s t i g a t i o n s were s p e c i f i c a l l y d i r e c t e d toward d e t e r m i n i n g
c a p a b i l i t i e s of t h e proposed C-3 c o n f i g u r a t i o n i n s u p p o r t i n g t h e APOLLO
mission (Fig. 6 3 ) .

-.

FIGURE 6 3 . PROPOSED C-3/AJ?OLLO CONFIGURATION

32
 June - July 1961

FIGURE: 64. INSTALLATION OF SA-T2 FIGURE 65. DR. VON BRALTN, JAMES E.
ON STATIC TEST STAND WEBB, AND MAJ. GEN. OS-ER

On June 27, the first static test of the SA-T2 booster (the SA-T1
booster modified to the configuration of the SA-2 booster stage) was
successfully accomplished at MSPC (Fig. 64). This was an eight-engine
test (SAT-14) of 30 seconds' duration to confirm effectiveness of the
new actuator servo valve and the stiffening of the control engine
support structure.

During the last week in June, a contract was awarded to Chrysler

Corporation for performance of qualification and reliability testing
on various engine, hydraulic, mechanical, and structural components of
the SATURN booster. Another contract was awarded in the same month for
preliminary design of a facility to static test the 5-2 engine.

Ts czmmemnrate the first anniversary of Marshall Space Flight Center,

an open house was held at the Center on Juiy 1, 1361. Attending were
such national figures as the NASA Administrator, James E. Webb; the
Director of NASA Launch Vehicle Programs, Major General Don Ostrander
(Fig. 65) , and numerous other national, stat;, and local dignitaries. A
few days later, dynamic testing of SA-D1 began to investigate the
bending modes of the vehicle and to continue studies into tank reso-
nances, initiated by Langley Research Center during June. While dynamic

33
July 1961
testing proceeded at MSFC,
Rocketdyne, in California,
began static firing tests
of a complete F-1 engine,
(Fig. 66). In the course
of these tests, the engine
would build up to 1.5 mil-
lion pounds of'thrust (Fig.
67).

Early in July 1961,

MSFC awarded a contract
to Minneapolis-Honeywell
for necessary engineering
and manufacturing services
to adapt the CENTAUR guid-
ance set to SATURN require-
ments. Also in July, MSFC
awarded a six-month contract
FIGURE 66. H-1 AND F-1 ENGINE COMPARISON to the Boeing Company to
(H-1 IN FOREGROUND) study the feasibility of
creating
- huge
- vehicles by.~joining

solid prope 1lant "superboosters"

with liquid-propellant upper stages
(Fig. 68).

On July 7, 1961, the second

FIGURE 67. STATIC FIRING OF F-1
ENGINE
static firing of the SA-T2 test
booster was successfully completed
at MSFC in an eight-engine test
(SAT-15) of 119 seconds' duration
(Fig. 69). This test was to eval-
uate the effect of modifications in
reducing engine structure vibration,
to evaluate flame curtain materials,
and to check out a LOX depletion
system similar to that used on SA-1.
Results of the testing were satis-
factory.
I n July, MSFC awarded a contract
to the Space Technology Laboratories,
Inc., Los Angeles, California, to
investigate the relative merits and
potential problems of assembling the
giant SATURN boosters in horizontal
and vertical positions. Other con-
tracts awarded by the Marshall Space

34
a-

.-

FIGUEU 69. STATIC FIRING OF SA-T2

35
July 1961

Flight Center, in July included qualification and reliability testing of

SATURN ground support equipment, subsystems, and components, and contruc-
tion of a special assembly building at Cape Canaveral; this building
would provide a protected area for heavy boosters, as well as a serv-
icing area for assembly, handling, checkout, and mating of all stages to
the SATURN vehicle.

On July 18, 1961, the third static firing of the SA-T2 booster was
successfully completed in an eight-engine static test (SAT-16) of 110
seconds' duration. During this test, the in-flight engine cut-off se-
quence (shutdown of the inboard engines six seconds before shutdown of
the outboard engines) was simulated for the first time. The test also
continued investigation of heat shield and engine curtain materials; and
testing was performed t o support studies of the SA-D1 test vehicle.

Late in July, MSFC awarded a contract for site development of the

Center's new static test facility (Fig. 7 0 ) . This facility would be
used for static testing boosters with up to 3,000,000-pounds of thrust,
and was scheduled for completion by the end of 1962. Also in July, the
Space Task Group invited 12 companies to submit proposals for the manned
lunar APOLLO spacecraft (Fig. 71). Study contracts were also awarded

FIGURE 70. CONCEPT OF NEW STATIC TEST FACILITY, MSFC

36
 July - August 1961

NUCLEAR STAGE

SATURN C - 2
FIGURE 71. ARTIST'S CONCEPT OF MOLL3 STANnARD CHEMICAL
SEPARATION FROM SEC9XI.I STAGE 2 N D STAGE
by MSFC to General Dynamics-Astronautics,
Douglas Aircraft Company, Lockheed Air-
craft Company, the Martin Company, for
a six-month RIFT (Reactor in Flight) de-
sign analysis for a nuclear-powered SATURN BOOSTER
SATURN upper stage (Fig. 72).
-
Assembly of the booster stage for
the SA-3 vehicle began on July 31, 1961. FIGURE 72. CONCEPT OF SATURN
The following day, August 1, 1961, the WITH NUCLEAR POWER STAGE
SA-2 booster was transferred from the
assembly area to checkout. On August 3 , a planned 114-second static test
(SAT-17) of the SA-T2 booster was terminated after 1.2 seconds, when
instrumentation indicated an unacceptably high temperature of the LOX
pump inlet on engine No. 1. The test was therefore rescheduled for the
ful:owing ~ e e k , Test SAT-18 was performed on August 7, to accomplish
objectives established for SAT-17. Tne SA-T2 5 c z s t e r was successfully
fired in a test of 124 seconds' duration.

Checkout of the flight booster, which had begun in the middle of

June, was completed early in August. The booster stage, the dummy S-IV
stage, and the dummy payload body were shielded with protective covers
and loaded on their respective transporters. The stages and payload

37
 August 1961

FIGURE 73. BOOSTER MOVENENT TO DOCKING FACILITY

body were t h e n moved from t h e MSFC shops ( F i g . 73) t o t h e docking f a c i l i -

t i e s on t h e Tennessee R i v e r and l o a d e d a b o a r d t h e Palaemon. On August 5 ,
t h e b a r g e began t h e f i r s t l e g of t h e t r i p t o Cape C a n a v e r a l . A t Wheeler

FIGUm 74. PAYLOAD MOVEMENT AROUND WKEELER DAM

38
 August 1961

FIGURE 75. BOOSTER MOVEMENT AROUND WHEELER DAM

h i ,ths unite vere imloaded, t r a n s p o r t e d t o a dock below t h e dam (Figs.

74 and 75), and p l a c e d on the second SATURN b a r g e , t h e Compromise, t o
c o n t i n u e the 2 2 0 0 - n i l e t r i p t o F l o r i d a (Fig. 76). On August 15, t h e

FIGURE 7 6 . S-I AND S-IV STAGES ABOAKD THE COMPROMISE

39
 August 19 61

-*XI_(" A

FIGURE 77. UNLOADING COMPROMISE IN FLORIDA

Compromise arrived at the Cape, unloaded her cargo (Fig. 77), and assem-
bly of the first flight vehicle on the launch pedestal began (Figs.78-8)).

FIGURE 78. BOOSTER ERECTION AT CAF'E CANAVERAL

40
 FIGURE 79. S-IV ERECTION AT CAPE CANAVERAL

FIGURE 80. PAYLOAD BODY ERECTION INTO SERVICE STRUCTURE

41
August 1961

--* .-
-- “ I
-”

i x x
-
FIGURE 81. ASSEMBLED SA-1 LAUNCH PEDESTAL

A f t e r t h e v e h i c l e was c o m p l e t e l y assembled on t h e l a u n c h p e d e s t a l
( F i g . 81), f i n a l p r e p a r a t i o n s f o r t h e launch began.

E a r l y i n August, MSFC i n v i t e d b i d s f o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a new

SATURN launch complex (LC 37) a t Cape Canaveral ( F i g . 8 2 ) . Scheduled
f o r completion i n l a t e 1962, t h e new complex would s u p p o r t t h e h i g h
l a u n c h r a t e planned f o r t h e SATURN v e h i c l e ( F i g . 83) .

An F-1 engine was f i r e d on August 1 6 , 1961, a t Edwards A i r F o r c e

Base; a l t h o u g h t h e t e s t w a s t e r m i n a t e d a f t e r one and o n e - h a l f s e c o n d s ,
t h e e n g i n e b u i l t up one m i l l i o n pounds of t h r u s t d u r i n g t h i s t i m e .

On August 24, 1961, NASA announced t h a t Cape C a n a v e r a l had been

s e l e c t e d as t h e base f o r a l l manned l u n a r f l i g h t s and o t h e r s p a c e m i s -
s i o n s r e q u i r i n g advanced launch v e h i c l e s . An 80,000 acre t r a c t of l a n d

42
 FIGURE 8 2 . SATURN LAUNCH COMPLEX 37, CAPE W W R L U ,

FIGURE 83. ARTIST'S CONCEPT OF LAUNCH PEDESTAL FOR LC 37

43
September 1961

would be secured, raising the total area of Cape Canaveral to 97,000

acres. The additional land was needed because of the tremendous vi-
bration and noise expected with later launch vehicles.

On September 7, 1961, the government-owned Michoud Ordnance Plant

near New Orleans was selected by NASA as the site for industrial pro-
duction of the s-I stage (Fig. 8 4 ) . The plant will be operated by
industry under the technical direction of MSFC. Simultaneously, MSFC
continued preparations for a conference to secure Requests for Quota-
tions from industry on production of the s-I stage.

North American Aviation was selected by NASA, September 11, 1961,

to develop and build the S-I1 stage for an advanced SATURN launch ve-
5icle. The stage will be used in both manned and unmanned missions.

A contract was awarded by the Army Engineers, on September 13,

1961, for the construction of Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral. The
complex will include a mobile steel tower, a blockhouse, and a cable
tower on a 120-acre site at the north end of the Cape.

On September 15, 1961, the SA-1 vehicle had been completely assem-
bled on the launch pedestal at LC 3 4 . For the first time, the service
structure was moved back, leaving the SATURN standing as it would at
launch (Fig. 8 5 ) .

.
FIGURE 8 4 . MICHOUD PLANT AT NEW ORLEANS

44
 September - October 1961

FIGURE 85. SA” SA-1 FLIGHT VEKTCLE ON LAUNCH PEDESTAL

On September 26, a preproposal conference was held at New Orleans

to secure bids for industrial production of the S - I stage. Four days
later, on September 30, a ground-breaking ceremony was held to begin
construction of the Marshall Center’s central laboratory and office
building.

Testing continued in September and October at the Marshall liquid

I I.
1- .
3Y U
_ _test f.rcF1ity: where problems in the handling and use of liquid
L ^
V^~_
~ , ~

hydrogen are studied. The SA-2 flight booster was inscaiied tii E h 2 YSFC
static test tower early in October. On October 10, a successful eight-
engine test of 33 seconds duration ( S A - 0 4 ) was performed to check
reliability and performance of booster and gimbal systems. Test SA-05
was successfully conducted on October 24 for a duration of 112 seconds.
Test objectives included evaluation of the flight cutoff sequence.

45
Octo5er - Novennber 1961

L a t e i n October, NASA s e l e c t e d a 1 3 , 5 5 0 - a c r e s i t e i n M i s s i s s i p p i
on which t o b u i l d a f a c i l i t y f o r s t a t i c t e s t i n g of t h e Advanced
SATURN, and NOVA f i r s t s t a g e s . The s i t e , which w i l l become t h e
M i s s i s s i p p i T e s t F a c i l i t y , i s o n l y 35 m i l e s from t h e Michoud P l a n t
where i n d u s t r y w i l l manufacture t h e S - I and S-IC S t a g e s .

The f i r s t launch of t h e SATURN v e h i c l e t o o k p l a c e on October 27,

1961 ( F i g , 8 6 ) . The v e h i c l e , 162 f e e t h i g h and weighing 460 t o n s a t
l i f t o f f , r o s e t o a h e i g h t of 85 m i l e s d u r i n g i t s t r a j e c t o r y . The
i n b o a r d engines s h u t down a f t e r 109 seconds of b u r n i n g ; t h e o u t b o a r d
e n g i n e s cut o f f s i x seconds l a t e r . The b o o s t e r s t a g e produced t h e
1 , 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 pounds of t h r u s t i n t e n d e d f o r t h e f i r s t f o u r f l i g h t t e s t s .
(On subsequent t e s t s , t h e t h r u s t w i l l be i n c r e a s e d t o 1 , 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 pounds
A t a speed of approximately 3,600 m i l e s p e r h o u r , t h e SATURN f o l l o w e d
a p r e c a l c u l a t e d f l i g h t p a t h t o l a n d w i t h i n 1 3 m i l e s of p r e d i c t e d
impact, over 214 m i l e s from Cape Canaveral. The launch w a s c o n s i d e r e d
most s u c c e s s f u l .

On November 6 ,
1961, MSFC d i r e c t e d
NAA t o r e d e s i g n t h e
S-I1 S t a g e t o i n c o r -
porate five 5-2
engines, providing a
t o t a l of 1,000,000
pounds s t a g e t h r u s t
(Fig. 87).

Work a t t h e new
large booster S t a t i c
T e s t S t a n d a t MSFC
was interrupted i n
November f o r re-
d e s i g n of the s t a n d
t o accept thrust
l e v e l s of m o r e t h a n
7.5 m i l l i o n pounds.

On November 1 0 ,
1961, NASA r e c e i v e d .\
p r o p o s a l s from f i v e
f i r m s f o r the
development and
p r o d u c t i o n of t h e 4

advanced SATURN
booster.

NASA announced
s e l e c t i o n of C h r y s l e r
t
C o r p o r a t i o n on
November 1 7 , t o FIGURE 8 6 . LAUNCH OF SAT-LJRS SA-1 FLIGHT VEHICLE

46
I
November 1951

FIC-LT'E 8 7 . S - T T STAGE CUTAWAY

n e g o t i a t e a c o n t r a c t t o b u i l d , check m t , and t e s t twenty S-I b o o s t e r s .

Manufacture w i l l b e accomplished a t t h e Michoud P l a n t . The c o n t r a c t was
s i g n e d i n mid-January 1962.

On November 1 9 , t h e n a t i o n ' s f i r s t l i q u i d hydrogen e n g i n e , t h e

RL-10, s u c c e s s f u l l y completed i t s p r e l i m i n a r y f l i g h t r a t i n g t e s t ,
p r o d u c i n g 1 5 , 0 0 0 pounds t h r u s t . The e n g i n e , d e s i g n e d and developed by
P r a t t and Whitney, performed about 30 p e r c e n t b e t t e r t h a n e n g i n e s u s i n g
hydrocarbon f u e l s . S i x RL-10 e n g i n e s will power t h e SATURN S - I V S t a g e .

O n XoveEber 2 9 , 1961, NASA awarded North American A v i a t i o n , I n c . a

c o n t r a c t f o r t h e d e s i g n and c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a three-man APOLLO space-
c r a f t . The APOLLO p r o j e c t w i l l be d i v i d e d i n t o t h r e e b a s i c m i s s i o n s :
e a r t h o r b i t a l f l i g h t s , c i r c u m l u n a r f l i g h t s , and manned l a n d i n g s on t h e
n o o n . The two-stage SATURV C - 1 w i l l s u p p o r t e a r t h o r b i t a l f l i g h t s of
p r o t o t y p e APOLLO command modules d u r i n g t h e 1964-1965 p e r i o d . The
advanced SATiTRV C- 3 would suppvi-ir re-entry an2 clrr-iimli_rnar MOLL0
f l i g h E s . P r e v i o u s t o the c o n t r a c t award, the N a r s h a l l Space F l i g h t
C e n t e r and t h e Manned S p a c e c r a f t C e n t e r m e t t o j o i n t l y p l a n toward t h e
u s e of t h e C - 1 RSJ) v e h i c l e s f o r v e h i c l e - p a y l o a d c o m p a t i b i l i t y t e s t and
e a r l y R&D systems t e s t of the APOLLO S p a c e c r a f t .

47
November - December 1961

The SA-T3 test stage was installed in.the test stand and, on
November 30, 1961, Test SAT-20 was conducted to investigate flight
cut off sequencing, to perform an "engine out" test, and to study
fuel and LOX tank levels. The test was prematurely cut off at 95
seconds by the automatic fire detection system. No hardware damage
occurred. This was the first of a series of tests to verify SA-3
design improvements.

The last of the SATURN 70-inch tanks to be manufactured by MSFC

was completed the week of December 4 . Future 70-inch tanks will be
built by Chance-Vought in Dallas, Texas, and shipped initially to MSFC and
later to Michoud for the Chrysler assembled stages.

MSFC awarded a design contract on December 6 to Maurice H. Connell

and Associates for modification to the west side of the Center's
existing static test tower. The design was completed in April 1962.
The tower, scheduled for completion by the summer of 1963, will be used
for acceptance testing of Chrysler S - I stages.

On December 5, 1961, AEC-NASA Space Nuclear Propulsion Office

selected the Aetron Division of Aerojet-General Corporation proposal as
the basis for negotiating an architect and engineering contract for a
NERVA engine test stand.
The NERVA would be used 1 .

in nuclear stages with a

reactor derived from the
Kiwi-B test series.

A preproposal confer-
ence was held on December 7,
at Huntsville, Alabama, to
select a prime contractor
for the reactor-in-flight
test (RIFT) stage launch
vehicle. On January 29,
1962, NASA selected three % *

firms to submit final

proposals. The RIFT vehicle
is planned for use as an
upper stage of a SATURN
vehicle.'
At the Douglas
Sacramento Test Facility, -
prototype S-IV Stage tankage
was installed and propellant
loading tests begun on
December 11, 1961 (Fig. 88). 4

FIGURE 8 8 . S-IV TANKAGE AT

SACTO TEST FACILITY
49
 Decmber 1961

FIGURE 8 9 . BARGE PROMISE

Modifications to the SATURN barge Compromise were completed on

December 14, 1961 (Fig. 8 9 ) . The barge, renamed Promise, was readied
for movement to Wheeler Dam, where it would receive stages of the SA-2
flight vehicle. On the same day, another F-1 engine test was performed
at the Rocketdyne test facility (Fig. 9 0 . ) The engine reached its
rated 1.5 million pounds thrust in a short mainstage firing.

The Boeing Company was selected for negotiations,on Dscmber 15,

as a possible prime contractor for the first, or S-IC Stage, of the
Advanced SATURN vehicle. The S-IC, powered by five F-1 engines,

FIGURE 9 0 , F-1 ENGILT AND TEST STAND

49
December 1961 - January 1962

will be 33 feet in diameter and about 140 feet high (Fig. 91). The
manufacturing program at Michoud was planned to consist of 24 flight
stages and one for ground test.

The second static test (SAT-21) on SA-T3 vehicle was performed at

MSFC on December 19. Prematurely terminated after 68 seconds duration,
the test was rescheduled for mid-January.

Douglas Aircraft was selected by NASA on December 21, 1961, to

negotiate a contract to modify the SATURN S - I V stage by installing a
single 5-2 Rocketdyne engine of 200,000 pounds thrust (Fig. 92). The
modified stage, identified as the S - I V B , would be used as a third \

stage of the advanced SATURN C-5 configuration.

Later in December, MSFC awarded a contract to the Mason-Rust

Company to perform housekeeping and other administrative services at
the New Orleans Michoud Plant.

Assembly of the SA-4 flight booster began January 2, 1962. The

SA-3 booster successfully completed functional and pressure engine
tests and entered pre-static checkout on January 8, 1962. Later in

FIGURE 91. S-IC STAGE

50
 January 1962

FIGURE 92. S-IVB STAGE CUTAWAY

t h e month, on J a n u a r y 18, 1962, a 122-second t e s t (SAT-22) w a s

s u c c e s s f u l l y conducted w i t h SA-T3 t e s t b o o s t e r .

NASA announced on J a n u a r y 24, t h a t A e r o j e t - G e n e r a l C o r p o r a t i o n

h a s been s e l e c t e d f o r d e s i g n and development of a new, 1,200,000-
pound t h r u s t l i q u i d hydrogen e n g i n e . The e n g i n e , known a s t h e M-1,
will b e used t o power t h e second s t a g e of t h e NOVA l a u n c h v e h i c l e .

MSFC awarded a c o n t r a c t t o Consteel-Ets-Hokin l a t e i n

J a n u a r y f o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e u m b i l i c a l tower f o r Launch
Complex 34 a t Cape C a n a v e r a l . The tower i s t o c a r r y t h e e l e c t r i c a l ,
p n e u m a t i c , and h y d r a u l i c c o n n e c t i o n s u s e d i n f u e l i n g and s e r v i c i n g
SATLWS upper s t a g e s .

51
J a n u a r y 1962

FIGURE 9 3 . SATURN C - 5

On J a n u a r y 2 5 , 1962, NASA approved development o f t h e 3-Stage

SATURN C - 5 v e h i c l e under t h e d i r e c t i o n of MSFC. The v e h i c l e w i l l

FIGURE 94. SA-2 ERECTED ON LAUNCH PEDESTAL

52
 February - March 1962

/
,/

FIGURE 95. REGIONAL MAP SHOWING MISSISSIPPI TEST FACILITY

s u p p o r t manned c i r c u m l u n a r f l i g h t s and manned l a n d i n g s by e a r t h o r

l u n a r o r b i t rendezvous method. The C-5 (Fig. 93) w i l l be c a p a b l e of
p l a c i n g 120 t o n s i n l o w e a r t h o r b i t o r e s c a p i n g 45 t o n s t o t h e v i c i n i t y
of t h e moon.

On F e b r u a r y 6 , 1962, a 46-second C - 1 b o o s t e r t e s t f i r i n g (SAT-23)

was s u c c e s s f u l l y conducted a t MSFC. On F e b r u a r y 9 , a preli.minary
c o n t r a c t was awarded t h e Space and I n f o r m a t i o n Systems D i v i s i o n , North
American A v i a t i o n , t o d e s i g n , develop, and f a b r i c a t e t h e S - I 1 S t a g e of
t h e C-5 v e h i c l e . MSFC s i g n e d a p r e l i m i n a r y S-IC development c o n t r a c t
w i t h Boeing Company on February 14.

S t a g e s o f t h e SATURN SA-2 f l i g h t v e h i c l e d e p a r t e d H u n t s v i l l e on
F e b r u a r y 1 6 , f o r Cape Canaveral. The v e h i c l e a r r i v e d a t Cape Canaveral
on F e b r u a r y 27, 1962 and, by March 1, t h e v e h i c l e was e r e c t e d on t h e
-- l a u n c h pad of LC 34 (Fig. 94).

A s t a t i c f i r i n g of t h e SA-T3 b o o s t e r was conducteci on February 2G,

1962. The t e s t (SAT-24) scheduled f o r LOX d e p l e t i o n c u t o f f , w a s
t e r m i n a t e d a t 55 seconds, due t o f i r e i n d i c a t i o n a t Engine No. 6. No
damage r e s u l t e d .

On March 4 , NASA s e l e c t e d Sverdrup P a r c e l 1 Company t o p r o v i d e d e s i g n

c r i t e r i a and i n i t i a l p l a n n i n g f o r t h e t e s t f a c i l i t i e s a t t h e M i s s i s s i p p i
T e s t F a c i l i t y (Fig. 9 5 ) .

53
March - April 1962

The SA-T3 t e s t b o o s t e r
was removed from t h e MSFC
s t a t i c t e s t s t a n d on March 15,
f o r i n s p e c t i o n , r e p a i r and
m o d i f i c a t i o n . On March 19,
t h e b o o s t e r f o r t h e SA-3 f l i g h t
v e h i c l e was i n s t a l l e d i n t h e
t e s t tower, and p r e p a r a t i o n s
begun f o r t h e f i r s t f l i g h t
qualification test.

On March 19, 1962, t h e '-

S e a l Beach, C a l i f o r n i a , s i t e
was reconfirmed as t h e l o c a t i o n
of t h e S-I1 S t a g e major
manufacturing and assembly
a c t i v i t i e s . T e s t i n g of p r o t o -
t y p e s t a g e s w i l l be performed
a t S a n t a Susana, C a l i f o r n i a .
Stage acceptance t e s t i n g w i l l
b e conducted a t t h e M i s s i s s i p p i
Test F a c i l i t y .
A t Douglas A i r c r a f t ,
s t r u c t u r a l assembly of t h e
f i r s t All-Systems v e h i c l e was
completed i n March 1962
(Fig. 96). The All-Systems
vehicle, a h e a v i l y instrumented
c o n f i g u r a t i o n of t h e S-IV
f l i g h t s t a g e , w i l l b e used t o
check a u t a l l o p e r a t i n g FIGURE 96. S-IV ALL SYSTEMS VEHICLE
S-IV systems.

L a t e i n March, a c o n s t r u c t i o n c o n t r a c t w a s awarded f o r c o n s t r u c t i o n
of a second launch area a t t h e SATURN Launch Complex 37, Cape C a n a v e r a l .
C o n s t r u c t i o n began e a r l y i n A p r i l (Fig. 97).

On A p r i l 10, 1962, t h e SA-3 b o o s t e r s u c c e s s f u l l y performed i t s

f i r s t f l i g h t q u a l i f i c a t i o n t e s t (SA-06) i n a s t a t i c f i r i n g of 31 s e c o n d s '
d u r a t i o n . On t h e same day, r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of 13 companies a t t e n d e d
a p r e - p r o p o s a l c o n f e r e n c e a t MSFC c o n c e r n i n g the NOVA l a u n c h vehicle
d e s i g n s . S u b m i t t a l of b i d s w a s r e q u i r e d l a t e i n t h e month.

The 5-2 l i q u i d hydrogen e n g i n e , which w i l l b e u s e d i n t h e S ~ T I J "

S - I 1 and S-IVB S t a g e s , r e a c h e d 90 p e r c e n t sea-level t h r u s t i n i t s

54
 A p r i l 1962

FIGURE 97. CONSTRUCTION OF LAUNCH COMPLEX 37

i n i t i a l hot f i r i n g tests, April

11, 1962. On t h e same day t h e
F-1 e n g i n e , b e i n g developed t o
power t h e S-IC S t a g e , performed
a s u c c e s s f u i 150 s e c ~ z d s ' static
firing .
One week l a t e r , r e c o n s t r u c -
t i o n of t h e Wheeler Dam Lock on
t h e Tennessee River was completed;
t r a n s p o r t a t i o n of SATURN f l i g h t
s t a g e s c o u l d be made w i t h o u t l a n d
detour.

NASA H e a d q u a r t e r s announced
on A p r i l 18 t h a t t h e h i g h e s t
n a t i o n a l p r i o r i t y (DX) had been
approved f o r t h e AFOLLO, SATURN
C-1, and SATURN C-5. The p r i o r i t y
includes a l l stages, engines,
f a c i l i t i e s , and r e l a t e d c o n s t r u c -
.- t i o n f o r p r o d u c t i o n , t e s t , re-
s e a r c h , launch, and i n s t r u m e n t a -
tion.

The second f l i g h t v e h i c l e ,
t h e SA-2, w a s s u c c e s s f u l l y
launched-from Cape Canaveral on
A p r i l 1 5 ( F i g . 98). A s w i t h t h e FIGURE 98. LAUNCH OF SATURN SA-2
SA-1, t h e v e h i c l e was launched FLIGHT VEHICLE

55
April 1962

without .a technical hold during the 10-hour countdown. This vehicle

had a secondary mission. After first stage shut-off, at 65 miles
altitude, the water-filled upper stages were exploded, dumping 95 tons
of water in the upper atmosphere. The massive ice cloud produced rose
to a height of 90 miles. The experiment, called Project High Water, was
to investigate the effects on the ionosphere of the sudden release of
such a great volume of water. This experiment did not interfere with
the major goal of the flight, which was achieved when the first stage
engines burned out 116 seconds after launch. Every phase of the launch
was considered most successful,

A 31-second duration eight-engine test (SA-07) of the SA-3 flight

booster was conducted on May 17, with excellent overall performance.
The final SA-3 booster acceptance firing test (SA-08) was performed on
May 24, for a duration of 119 seconds. The booster was removed from
the test tower on May 31, 1962.

On May 26, 1962, Rocketdyne successfully conducted the first full-

thrust, long-duration F-1 engine test (Fig. 99). On the same day, SA-4
booster fabrication was completed.

FIGURF, 99. STATIC F I R I N G OF F-1 ENGINE

56
 I n mid-May, MSFC d i r e c -
t e d DAC t o u s e a 260-inch
d i a m e t e r f o r t h e S-IVB (an
i n c r e a s e o f 40 i n c h e s from
t h e i n i t i a l diameter) per-
m i t t i n g development o f a
more optimum s i z e d s t a g e .
A l s o d u r i n g May, t h e S - I 1
Stage length was increased
from 75 f e e t t o 81.5 f e e t ,
and t h e S-IC S t a g e w a s
d e c r e a s e d i n l e n g t h from

I --
141 f e e t t o 138 f e e t .

A c o n t r a c t w a s awarded

I t o Greenhut C o n s t r u c t i o n
Company on June 5 , t o mod-
i f y t h e SATURN C - 1 b o o s t e r

I s t a t i c t e s t s t a n d a t MSFC.
The s t a n d , o r i g i n a l l y b u i l t
t o t e s t t h e REDSTONE and

I JUPITER m i s s i l e s and l a t e r
m o d i f i e d f o r SATURN t e s t i n g ,
w i l l provide test positions
f o r two C - 1 f i r s t s t a g e s
( F i g . 100).

On J u n e 9 , P r a t t and
-- . .
WriLuitsy c"i;li;:ZZZ2 Frclhi-
I n a r y f 1i g h t r a t i n g t e s t s FIGURE 100. C - 1 FIRST STAGE TEST STAND
o f t h e RLlOA-3 e n g i n e w i t h
a l l t e s t o b j e c t i v e s suc-
cessfully met.

A t MSFC, t h e f i r s t SA-T4 t e s t b o o s t e r s t a t i c f i r i n g (SAT-25) was

s u c c e s s f u l l y conducted on June 18, f o r a d u r a t i o n o f 3 1 seconds.

During J u n e , b i d s w e r e r e q u e s t e d f o r c o n s t r u c t i o n of a s t a t i c t e s t
s t a n d t o c a p t i v e f i r e t h e SATURN C-5 b o o s t e r . The s t a n d , t o be l o c a t e d
.- a t MSFC, w i l l p r o v i d e h a n d l i n g equipment and t h r u s t r e s t r a i n t f o r b o o s t -
ers up t o 178 f e e t i n l e n g t h , 48 f e e t i n d i a m e t e r , and w i t h t h r u s t o f up
t o 7 . 5 m i l l i o n pounds. I n c l u d i n g a c r a n e a t the cop, L'ne Lower w i l l
s t a n d 405 f e e t h i g h , more t h a n twice a s t a l l a s t h e p r e s e n t SATURN C - 1
booster test stand.

Three l e t t e r c o n t r a c t s were s i g n e d on J u l y 2 , by NASA and t h e

Rocketdyne D i v i s i o n of North American A v i a t i o n , f o r f u r t h e r development
and p r o d u c t i o n of t h e F-1 and 5-2 e n g i n e s . The c o n t r a c t s , e x t e n d i n g

57
J u l y 1962

t h r o u g h 1965, c o v e r long l e a d - t i m e i t e m s i n F-1 e n g i n e R&D and e a r l y

p r o d u c t i o n e f f o r t on F-1 and 5-2 e n g i n e s . On J u l y 7 , SA-5 f l i g h t b o o s t -
er assembly began a t MSFC.

NASA announced on J u l y 11,

t h a t a new, two-stage SATURN-
c l a s s v e h i c l e ( F i g . 101) would
be developed f o r manned e a r t h -
o r b i t a l missions with f u l l - s c a l e
APOLLO s p a c e c r a f t and a s s o c i a t e d
equipment. The C - 1 b o o s t e r and
C-5 t h i r d s t a g e would be a d a p t e d '-
t o p r o v i d e a v e h i c l e c a p a b l e of
performing t h e s e m i s s i o n . T h i s
v e h i c l e was i d e n t i f i e d a s t h e
SATURN C - 1 B . Simultaneously,
NASA announced s e l e c t i o n of
l u n a r o r b i t rendezvous a s t h e
method f o r performing t h e manned
lunar landing. A special lunar
e x c u r s i o n module ( t h e "Bug")
would be developed t o perform
t h e a c t u a l l a n d i n g , i n s t e a d of
t h e e n t i r e APOLLO s p a c e c r a f t , a s
o r i g i n a l l y c o n s i d e r e d . The l u n a r
rendezvous mode r e q u i r e s t h e u s e
FIGURE 101. SATURN C - 1 B VEHICLE of o n l y one SATURN C-5 v e h i c l e
t o i n j e c t the spacecraft into an
earth-lunar t r a j e c t o r y .

On J u l y 1 2 , t h e second s t a t i c t e s t (SAT-26) of t h e SA-T4 s t a g e was

manually terminated a f t e r 1 2 seconds when a broken ground i n s t r u m e n t a -
t i o n w i r e caused a n e r r o n e o u s p r e s s u r e drop i n d i c a t i o n . P r e s s u r e measure-
ment l o s s caused a premature c u t o f f a f t e r 20 seconds of a t h i r d SA-T4
s t a t i c t e s t (SAT-27), conducted on J u l y 13. A f o u r t h f i r i n g (SAT-28) of
120 s e c o n d s ' d u r a t i o n was conducted on J u l y 1 7 ; o v e r a l l performance was
e x c e l l e n t . The s t a g e was removed from t h e MSFC t e s t s t a n d on J u l y 20,
and work was begun t o u p r a t e t h e e n g i n e s t o 1 8 8 K t h r u s t l e v e l . The
s t a g e was r e d e s igna t e d a s t h e SA-T4.5.
.b

On J u l y 2 1 , NASA H e a d q u a r t e r s announced c o n s t r u c t i o n p l a n s f o r
Complex 3 9 , SATURN C-5 launch f a c i l i t i e s ( F i g . 1 0 2 ) . The 350-foot h i g h
v e h i c l e w i l l be e r e c t e d and checked o u t v e r t i c a l l y i n a s p e c i a l 48-stOry
assembly b u i l d i n g . Following c h e c k o u t , t h e SATURN w i l l be moved t o a 4

launch pad by a 2,500-ton c r a w l e r v e h i c l e ( F i g . 1 0 3 ) .

58
FIGURE 103. SATURX C - 5 LAUNCH PAD

59
July - August 1962

FIGURE 104. NASA COMPUTER CENTER, SLIDELL, LOUISIANA

I n J u l y , NASA announced t h a t a computer c e n t e r ( F i g , 104) would be

e s t a b l i s h e d a t S l i d e l l , L o u i s i a n a , t o s e r v i c e t h e Michoud O p e r a t i o n s .
The c e n t e r , t o b e one of t h e n a t i o n ' s l a r g e s t , w i l l perform e n g i n e e r i n g
c a l c u l a t i o n s n e c e s s a r y i n t h e development, b u i l d i n g , and s t a t i c t e s t i n g
o f t h e SATURN C - 1 and C-5 b o o s t e r s .

I n J u l y , MSFC awarded a c o n t r a c t t o Maurice H. Connell and A s s o c i -

a t e s , I n c . , t o d e s i g n a 360-foot h i g h dynamics t e s t tower ( F i g . 105) a t
MSFC t o accommodate t h e SATURN C-5 launch v e h i c l e . The v e h i c l e w i l l be
suspended i n t h e tower and v i b r a t e d by mechanical and e l e c t r i c a l means
t o s i m u l a t e f r e e - f l i g h t c o n d i t i o n s , and d e t e r m i n e t h e v e h i c l e ' s n a t u r a l
bending modes.

On August 6 , 1962, NASA and C h r y s l e r C o r p o r a t i o n s i g n e d a c o n t r a c t

f o r p r o d u c t i o n o f 2 1 C - 1 b o o s t e r s , w i t h d e l i v e r y t o be made between l a t e
1964 and e a r l y 1966. The s t a g e s would be produced by C h r y s l e r a t t h e
Michoud P l a n t n e a r New O r l e a n s . On t h e same d a t e , NASA announced t h a t
t h e Boeing Company had r e c e i v e d a supplementary c o n t r a c t from MSFC f o r
work l e a d i n g t o d e s i g n , development, f a b r i c a t i o n , and t e s t o f t h e C-5 -1

booster.

A c o n t r a c t f o r d e s i g n , development, f a b r i c a t . i o n , and t e s t of SATURN

S - I V B S t a g e was awarded Douglas A i r c r a f t C o r p o r a t i o n on August 8 . The 4
c o n t r a c t c a l l s f o r 11 of t h e C-5 upper s t a g e s ; f i v e f o r ground t e s t s
(two of which would be used l a t e r a s i n e r t f l i g h t s t a g e s ) and s i x s t a g e s
f o r powered f l i g h t .

60
 August 1962

On August 13, MSFC selected

the C-5 instrument unit design.
The cylindrical unit will measure
260 inches in diameter and stand
36 inches high. All vehicle gui-
dance and control equipment will
be mounted on panels fastened
within the structure.

I - On August 15, 1962, NASA

awarded .Rocketdyne Division of
North American Aviation a two-
I --
year contract to continue H-1
engine research and development.
The C - 1 booster will be powered
by a cluster of these engines.

On August 1 7 , the first S-IV

battleship static firing (Fig.
106) was successfully conducted
at the Sacraments Test Facility
in California. The Douglas
Aircraft C o r p o r a t i o n - p r d u c e d
second stage for the C - 1 launch
vehicle developed approximately
90,000 pounds of thrust for a
planned 10 seconds’ duration;
v q
a L A
.
LCJL
-- v __
- L~s -~- -t 4- ~- r -a .c weyp met.
The first successful full 420

FIGURE 106. S-IV BATTLESHIP STATIC FIRING

61
August - September 1962

seconds' duration firing was per-

formed on October 4 . In the final
phase of testing, a total of 11
tests were conducted, the last one
on November 8.

MSFC, on August 31, awarded a

contract to Ets-Hokin and Galvan, I

Inc., for construction of the S-IC

static test stand superstructure,
less the flame deflector (Fig. 107).
During August, Phase I construction -
of the Launch Complex 34 umbilical
tower was completed at AMR. Also
in August, MSFC received the DAC
prelimi-nary proposal for S-IVB
stage application to the C-1B
vehicle.

The SA-3 flight booster was

FIGURE 107. S-IC STATIC TEST STAND
shipped to Cape Canaveral on
September 9, arrived on September
19, and was erected on the launch
pad on September 21. By September
24, the inert upper stages and
payload had been erected on the
booster.

FIGURE 108. S-I1 STAGE ASSEMBLY AND TEST FACILITY I

Early in September, ground breaking ceremonies were held at Seal

Beach, California, where assembly and test facilities for the second
(S-11) Stage of SATURN C-5 will be located. The S-I1 facility (Fig. 108)
will be constructed by the U. S. Navy and operated by N U , S&ID.

62